The West Bank / Wild West / Secret Crag has been problematic for years due to access concerns. There have been negative encounters with gun-toting landowners who have alleged that the entire mountain is on private property. Typical approaches involve brief crossing of railroad property which appears to be prohibited.

Exact demarcation of property boundaries are not always clear. When in doubt, be discrete or polite.

Do not park your vehicle near the railroad tracks near Plainview. It is a well-known irritant to Plainview residents.

This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project.You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.

Description

To quote Rossiter, "Good routes in this grade are scarce." Find a large L-facing dihedral about 40m left of Shiva's Dance. Climb the great corner to a good ledge. P2: Follow the arcing dihedral until it becomes nearly horizontal (crux) and setup a hanging belay from a huge mess of slings. This climb is awesome, and commiting for the grade. The crux and exposure of this climb are really on the edge for a "5.7" climber. Awesome lead and a perfect crack.

Eds. Since the original ascent, the climb has been updated to ascend the dihedral 70 ft to a 2 bolt anchor and belay. P2 continues up the obvious, left-arching corner to the end and then straight up for a total distance of (100 feet).

Descent: Rap 1 from the top of Green Dihedral to the top of P1 Plane Geometry (80 feet). Rap 2 from Plane Geometry to the ground (90 feet). Note: The sketchy rap at the end of the roof has been removed to restore the original line. The rap anchors at the top of Green Dihedral were refurbished 01.30.2009.

Protection

Standard rack with extra large pro up to #4 Friend. Single, 50m rope to rap.

Sustained is a good word for this gem. Above the unsightly nest of slings (the hanging belay) is another stretch of crack that continues with the same genuine quality caliber of the hand traverse to the hanging belay. Grab a breather at the hanging belay and go for the top instead of rapping. It's short and goes to another unsightly nest of slings, but adds a few more moves of great climbing.

This is a fantastic line! I agree with Ben: it is [definitely] the spiciest and most committing [Eldo] 7 I've done, and feels like 8- if done as one pitch, which I fully recommend--more bang for your buck, and the climbing flows so well! That sling belay is horrendous at the end, but for me, it was a relief to stop there after the pumpy section before it!

Excellent climb. On the second pitch, in the left-facing corner before it arches left, there are some slightly loose chockstones and flakes. Be wary of where you place pro.

I agree with the recommendation to pass up the hanging belay at the end of the traverse on the second pitch and go straight up another short bit of exciting climbing to the next mess of slings (up and to the left a bit). A large cam (#4Fr, #3.5Cam) is nice to have handy to place in a slot to the right as you pull up above the hanging belay.

This is really a great line and can be done on a standard rack. Regardless of the grade you climb, this is a fun outing. As previously stated, you can add 40 feet to the climb by going up and left from the first belay to a second station in a single lead, making this one of the finest single pitches of its grade in the area.

P1 - Begin with P1 of Red Dihedral, left-facing dihedral to a 2 bolt anchor. (70 feet) P2 continue up the obvious, left arching corner to the end and then straight up for a total distance of (100 feet). Highly recommend combining the two pitches for 170 feet of amazing climbing. Standard rack including a #3, 4 Camalot and a #2 and #3.5 for above the roof. Rap 1 from the top of Green Dihedral to the top of P1 Plane Geometry (80 feet) Rap 2 from Plane Geometry to the ground (90 feet). Note: The sketchy rap at the end of the roof has been removed to restore the original line. The rap anchors at the top of Green Dihedral were refurbished 01.30.2009.